From Animism to Abstract Gods

The History of Philosophy in 16 Questions - Q7: Where is the universe?

He who sees all beings in the Self and the Self in all beings, he

never turns away from It (the Self).

He who perceives all beings as the Self' for him how can there be

delusion or grief, when he sees this oneness (everywhere) ?

He (the Self) is all-encircling, resplendent, bodiless, spotless,

without sinews, pure, untouched by sin, all-seeing, all-knowing,

transcendent, self-existent; He has disposed all things duly for

eternal years. (Isa-Upanishad 6-8)

This Self is never born, nor does It die. It did not spring from

anything, nor did anything spring from It. This Ancient One is

unborn, eternal, everlasting. It is not slain even though the

body is slain.

If the slayer thinks that he slays, or if the slain thinks that

he is slain, both of these know not. For It neither slays nor is

It slain.

The Self is subtler than the subtle, greater than the great; It

dwells in the heart of each living being. He who is free from

desire and free from grief, with mind and senses tranquil,

beholds the glory of the Atman.

The wise who know the Self, bodiless, seated within perishable

bodies, great and all- pervading, grieve not.

This Self cannot be attained by study of the Scriptures, nor by

intellectual perception, nor by frequent hearing (of It); He whom

the Self chooses, by him alone is It attained. To him the Self

reveals Its true nature. (Katha-Upanishads II, 18-23)

When Brahma's day is manifest, this multitude of living entities comes into being, and at the arrival of Brahma's night they are all annihilated.

Again and again the day comes, and this host of beings is active; and again the night falls, O Partha, and they are helplessly dissolved.

Yet there is another nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is.

That supreme abode is called unmanifested and infallible, and it is the supreme destination. When one goes there, he never comes back. That is My supreme abode.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than all, is attainable by unalloyed devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him. (Bhagavad-Gita 8- 18-22)

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